Brussels, 28/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - In response to the scale of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip - a crisis worsening by the day - the EU decided on Friday 25 July to give a further €5 million in emergency aid to support the victims, who now comprise three quarters of the civil population. “It is crucial that assistance reaches these people in desperate need”, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva was quick to warn and she urged all parties to ensure full humanitarian access.
This latest aid, to be delivered on the ground by the humanitarian partner organisations of ECHO will focus on the people's most basic needs - provision of shelter, food, drinking water and medical aid - as decided by the European Commission from the moment hostilities escalated.
Georgieva horrified. The commissioner said she was “horrified by the loss of lives and injuries caused to civilians in Gaza”, and she criticised the violation of international humanitarian law. “It is unconscionable that hospitals and schools, where there are terrified children, women, the sick and the elderly taking shelter, have become military targets. The appalling consequence is that in the last two days children have been killed at the rate of one an hour. It is intolerable that UN premises are subject to attacks”, she said on Friday.
During three weeks of conflict, Israel's Operation Protective Edge has resulted in the loss of over a thousand lives and displaced 150,000 people. It has also led to the destruction of critical infrastructure - including hospitals, health centres and schools.
The attacks on health facilities and personnel are hindering emergency assistance to the sick and injured. Due to the damage done to electricity systems or to the lack of fuel to run generators, an estimated 1.2 million people have no or very limited access to water or sanitation services.
This new funding brings the European Commission's emergency aid for the people in the Gaza Strip in 2014 to €23.5 million. (AN)